What's Inside the Greatest Scotch Booty Ever

In the annals of badass travel, Ernest Shackleton's 1907 Antarctic expedition ranks pretty high. Imagine the man's bitter disappointment when he was forced to turn his team back just 100 miles short of their South Pole goal. To make matters worse, in 2007 it came to light that Shackleton also left behind three crates of Mackinlay's Rare Old Highland Malt whisky in the ice. Devastating.

Well, around this time last year, as we discovered, scientists in Scotland were finally able to get their mits on a few of Shackleton's bottles, and they began meticulously analyzing the chemical composition of the scotch (how I always imagined Scottish scientists spending their time). Now the Journal of the Institute of Brewing is out with an account of what they found: Shackleton's prized liquor was produced around 1896 in the (now-shuttered) Glen Mhor distillery; it is 47 percent alcohol by volume, flavored with Orkney peat, and aged in American oak-sherry casks. After extensive "sensory analysis" (i.e., sniffing and drinking) Whyte and Mackay's master distiller then rifled through his inventory of whisky to design a new blend that recreates the taste and chemical profile of Shackleton's tipple almost exactly. It contains rare 1983 Glen Mhor single malts, plus a range of newer Speyside, Highland, and Jura malts. The flavor is being described as a complex blend of pear, vanilla, oak, and honey notes, with a light smokiness. Whyte and Mackay produced 50,000 bottles of the stuff (complete with old-school, hand-lettered labels) and is now selling it for around $165 a bottle while supplies last. Pricey, yes, but possibly the ultimate après-ski drink. [via Gothamist]

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